Genentech Warns of Stroke Risk for Blindness Drug Users

Genentech has sent a letter alerting eye doctors to the risk of stroke from Lucentis, its drug for treating age-related macular degeneration, a spokeswoman said.

The letter was a "proactive effort" to advise doctors that an interim analysis of a large 5,000-patient trial shows that 1.2% of patients given a 0.5-milligram dose of the drug suffered a stroke, compared with 0.3% of patients given a 0.3-mg dose, said spokeswoman Dawn Kalmar.

She said the findings mirror those shown in previous trials of Lucentis, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last year.